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The Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan has been renamed to The First Technical University, Ibadan.
The development followed the passage into law of an amendment to the 2012 law that established The Technical University, Ibadan, by the Oyo State House of Assembly, on Tuesday.
At the sitting presided by the Speaker, Honourable Olagunju Ojo, the Deputy Speaker, Honourable Abdulwasi Musah presented the report on behalf of the Committee of the Whole House.
The amendment affirms that the university, the first of its kind in the country, is a public university owned by the Oyo State Government and it allows for multi-campus operation.
The bill was also amended to allow the institution to be funded through the grant received from the state government as well as from other public or private sources.
With the amendment, the governing council of the institution can solicit and invite private partners to invest in the university, its programmes and objectives.
The section 15, subsection 3(2b) of the principal law amended states, “Any such partnership, collaboration or engagement with private sector partners may be fully or partly owned and operated by such collaborating party but shall be in furtherance of the overall objectives of the university.”
Speaking on the amendments, Honourable Joshua Oyebamiji, the Chairman, House Committee on Information said “we were made to realize that just like we see Oyo state as a pacesetter, the state is also making a landmark in the history of higher institutions in Nigeria because the Technical University is different from University of Technology and it is the first of it’s kind”.
Last June, the University signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Technical University, Lubbock. The MoU was signed to facilitate a collaboration that will see the two institutions exchange programmes for students, lecturers, researchers and other members of staff.